Even if I did, I’d never tell him. “I won’t. Have a good day.”
A few minutes after he left, I packed up my laptop and glanced at my watch. Date-number-six was late, and he was about to get canceled. I fired off a text to the ladies:Another no-show. Bliss, you’re fired too.
Bliss responded right away:He’s coming. No worries.
I felt someone brush past me to sit at the booth next to me. I didn’t bother to look up, though, because I was too busy laughing at Blake’s text:Is it just me or did anyone else think Sloane would’ve at least seen someone’s dick by now?Let’s get this show on the road. Now.
The man next to me cleared his throat and I glanced at him quickly before turning my attention back to my phone. Wait… I looked at the man again. “You?”
Maddox flashed a dimpled grin. “Hey.”
“How are you here? I mean, why are you here?” I asked him incredulously.
He shrugged. “Grabbing a coffee. It is a public place, right?”
“Did you know I would be here?” I pressed.
“How would I know that?” He tossed back.
He has a point. I shifted in my seat. “This is too weird.”
Maddox sipped from his cup. “Not that weird. People run into people all the time at the coffee shop.”
That’s also true. Yesterday, I ran into Ryker at the gas station, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that this was simply a coincidence. “Fine, but I have a date.”
“What number is this?” he asked.
“Six,” I replied.
“And here I am still waiting on one.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “I told you I’d think about it.” I’d spent valuable time obsessing over it, actually. The short time we’d spent together at the mall had only made me want more time with him. But I was holding firm on my promise to myself. I already thought about him entirely too much to be trusted on a date with him. I knew myself and I’d probably hop on his dick before the salad arrived.
“Are you thinking about it now?” He shot me a knowing glance. “Because I’m ready when you are.”
I opened my mouth to answer him, but nothing came out. My resolve was weakening under his intense stare. And he smelled too damn good.
“Sloane?”
I glanced up at … “Richard?”
“Hey, you.” My fifth-grade boyfriend slid into the chair across from me. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
Speechless, I shot Maddox a sidelong glance before meeting Richard’s gaze again. “I didn’t realize you were my date,” I admitted. “I haven’t seen you since—”
“You stood me up for prom?”
“Oh yeah. That.” I finished my coffee. “Sorry.”
“It’s no problem. Can I get you a refill?”
“Sure.” I gave him my order and waited for him to leave before I addressed Maddox again. “If you’re going to sit there, don’t look at me like that.”
“I promise I’ll be good,” he said. “Has the time already started ticking?”
“I’m not answering that.”
He laughed. “I take that as a yes.”
